If there’s one thing that signals the start of fall in the U.S., it’s the introduction of seasonal pumpkin dishes and drinks at restaurants around the country. But while pumpkin has long been seen as the king of fall, quick service restaurants (QSRs) and casual dining brands are also trying to incorporate non-pumpkin flavors and trends into their fall menu offerings to entice consumers. From the flavor of caramel apples to hearty soups and sauces - even dishes with carved turkey and cranberries - plenty of new fall-themed recipes will be hitting menus in late August and early September.

With today’s busy consumers on the lookout for healthy grab-and-go snacks, protein-packed bars, cookies, and other snack options have exploded in popularity over the past few years. Whether it’s a crunchy peanut butter protein bar or nutty trail mix with yogurt-covered raisins, consumers are concerned about the healthiness of the snacks they’re eating, with 30% of Americans claiming to only snack on healthy foods.

While hummus has been a staple in Middle Eastern cuisine for centuries, its rise in popularity in the U.S. is striking, occupying 34% of global hummus consumption, and its popularity continues to rise. It was named “Dish of the Year” by Bon Appetit Magazine in 2015, and is projected to exceed $1 billion in global sales by 2022. Hummus also fits well with the current consumer snacking trends.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about one in five children ages 6-19 are obese. It’s a startling statistic attributed to a number of causes from genetics and metabolism to a significant lack of daily physical activity in an increasingly sedentary society. Couple these factors with the nutritional deficits found in kids’ favorite foods like hot dogs, fried chicken and macaroni and cheese, and the odds appear stacked against reversing the childhood obesity trend.

Visit any get together or party and you’re sure to find people grazing from a buffet of snacks, veggies and an array of dips and spreads that go along with them—hummus, yogurt, spreadable cheese and more.

One of the questions we’re often asked relates to how our whey protein products are made; in particular they wonder if they can have a “clean” label while delivering the nutrition – minus chemicals – that consumers are looking for. In this blog post we’ll answer this commonly asked question and others associated with it.

Consumers have long viewed frozen food aisles in grocery stores as catering to convenience and little else. The typical sodium-laden, refined carb-intensive ready made meal selections simply don’t align anymore with their desire for fresh, highly nutritious foods that support their healthy lifestyles.

New Year's resolutions: we’ve all made them…and we’ve all broken them. One of the most cited reasons for falling off the wagon when it comes to resolutions related to dieting is that the food that’s low-fat, low-calorie, low-carb and other “lows” just isn’t as good as rich, or as decadent as other food that are available; we’ve all tasted light versions of our favorite foods and felt the disappointment. Food and beverage manufacturers continue to rush to the shelves with products that tout their healthier versions of popular products, hoping to capture people who, as of January 1, are committed to changing their eating habits. But usually by about January 3, they’re back to the better-tasting products.

One of the recent questions we received via our website is this, from a baked good manufacturer: “Can functional whey protein be used to boost protein levels in a glaze?”

Nearly 70% of today’s adult Americans are considered to be overweight or obese, and the consequences of this epidemic are dramatic. Obesity-related conditions such as heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer have associated medical costs estimated to be between $150 and nearly $210 billion every year. With growing concern about their health and wellbeing, consumers are looking for healthy and satisfying foods to help them combat this trend.